Residents group selects board president, maps out plans to preserve South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library

SOUTH EUCLID -- A group attempting to preserve the Telling Mansion, current home of the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library, has a new name and new board president.

Now calling itself “TMPO,” or “TEMPO,” which stands for Telling Mansion Preservation Organization, the residents group organized by County Councilwoman Sunny Simon, of South Euclid, elected Robin Leichtman as its president at its second meeting, held April 18.

The group of about 20 people met at the Telling Mansion, 4645 Mayfield Road in South Euclid. The building is now owned by the Cuyahoga County Public Library, but it will only be home to the library until 2014 when the CCPL has said it will construct a new branch building on South Green Road, across from Notre Dame College.

The CCPL maintains that the Telling Mansion is outdated for modern library use and would cost $5 million to renovate.

The CCPL believes building a new branch, at a cost of $12.5 million, would better suit the community’s needs.

The news of the new building, announced last year, had led to a residents group being formed that seeks to keep the library at Telling Mansion, a 1920s-era building that became home to the branch 60 years ago.

Meanwhile, some Lyndhurst residents are unhappy in that the library will be moving further from its borders. Lyndhurst City Council recently voted to have the Lyndhurst portion of the branch’s name removed from its title when the new building opens.

As for Simon and the group known as TEMPO — many of whom have also stated a desire for the building to remain home to the library — they are operating under the premise that the CCPL is moving forward with a new building.

One of TEMPO’s goals is to preserve the mansion, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It also has goals of purchasing the Telling Mansion, maintaining it, and keeping it open for public use of some kind, perhaps of a cultural nature.

“I think a lot of us liked the idea of cultural use for the building,” said Leichtman, a South Euclid resident who lives on Norman Drive, graduated from Brush High School and who works as a counselor. “As was said at the meeting tonight, we will all have to be fundraisers first.”

Simon said the first step is to make TEMPO a state-recognized non-profit organization.

The CCPL has told Simon and the Sun Messenger that it would sell the Telling Mansion at a greatly reduced price to a non-profit that would allow public use.

Several TEMPO members were of the opinion that the CCPL would like to unload the building for as little as $1 in a move that would aid its public image.

Simon said an early task for TEMPO’s board will be to set up a meeting with the CCPL board of directors.

“This is a monumental task, no doubt,” Simon told TEMPO members gathered on the mansion’s second floor. “But I’m convinced that if we organize, we can really make something happen.”

At TEMPO’s first meeting, held April 4, residents spontaneously contributed $330 from their pockets to cover the cost of incorporating.

South Euclid Councilman at-large Marty Gelfand has been at both TEMPO meetings. At the latter meeting, he spoke of seeking a grant to help with the building’s purchase, and again spoke of possible legislation to aid the preservation of the building.

Gelfand suggested a council resolution that would encourage the CCPL to talk with TEMPO about a sale. The CCPL is now asking $895,000 for the mansion.

“We’ve had some interest in the building and some people have looked at the property, but no offers have been made,” said CCPL spokesperson Halle Rich.

There has been talk of Notre Dame College being interested in purchasing the mansion, but NDC Vice President and General Counsel David Armstrong said, “At this time, Notre Dame College has no interest in purchasing it. We hope someone will purchase the property and that it will continue to be an asset for the South Euclid-Lyndhurst community.”

TEMPO is using the Henn Mansion, a lakefront, one-time home also built in the 1920s, as a model. A group of Euclid residents banded together in the 1990s to preserve the Henn Mansion when political leaders in Euclid had it slated for demolition.

The Henn Mansion has survived as a non-profit, hosting events and renting out its second floor as offices.

At the next TEMPO meeting, it is likely that a member of the Henn Mansion group will speak.

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